Beckman’s football team and Coach Marcello Giuliano celebrate after winning the CIF Division 8 title last season. (FILE PHOTO: Mark Bausman, For OC Sports Zone).
Beckman’s football team, coming off the program’s first CIF title, is out to have another successful season under coach Marcello Giuliano.
The Patriots open the season Thursday night hosting Pacifica at Tustin.
Beckman won the CIF Division 8 championship last season and advanced to the CIF State Division 4-A final where it lost to El Cerrritos 35-12 after an 11-game winning streak.
The Patriots finished 12-4 overall and won the Lambda League crown with a 5-0 record.
“The goals don’t change very much each year in as much as we are all looking to put our teams in a position to make a run at the end of the season,” Giuliano said. “This season will be an entirely new challenge, as we are replacing so many two-and three-year starters, but the goals remain the same: grow to your potential and play your best football at the end of the season.”
Giuliano said he hopes the 2026 team can build on success of the 2025 team.
“It certainly raised the level of expectations in the sense that the kids have seen the work, sacrifice, and accountability it takes to play at a high level, and they have embraced that throughout the off season,” he said. “I think it’s also a point of pride for the neighborhood kids; we had more freshmen than usual join the program this summer,which is not universally true around the county, and we are excited to work with this terrific group as well.”
Beckman has two starters returning on offense and five on defense.
Among the returning players are senior Zak Hazboun, a four-year starting linebacker. He had 90 tackles last year and is on pace to set the school tackling record. He also plays tight end and had 30 catches for 310 yards and three touchdowns last season.
Senior defensive lineman Skyeler Knight, who led team with 13 tackles for a loss and three sacks and junior defensive back Xavier Musselman who was among the Orange County interception leaders with eight last season.
Beckman will be competing in the Foxtrot League last year as part of the Orange County two-year releaguing process. El Toro, Orange, El Dorado, Irvine and Segerstrom are also in the league.
“The Foxtrot League is full of terrific programs and coaching staffs,” Giuliano said. “Not having played most of these teams, it’s a great opportunity to take on brand new challenges, which is so much different from the times when you played the same league schedule year after year.”
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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